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Thursday, July 17, 2014

I recently received an e-mail that has made the rounds for the last few years. As I received it the story therein was attributed to Chuck Yeager. I was skeptical of that, and yet the story itself rang true. I did a little cyber-legwork and found the story was most likely originally told by a guy named Mark Pfeifer. Here it is:

Shifty volunteered for the airborne in WWII and served with Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the 101st Airborne Infantry. If you've seen Band of Brothers on HBO or the History Channel, you know Shifty. His character appears in all 10 episodes, and Shifty himself is interviewed in several of them.

I met Shifty in the Philadelphia airport several years ago. I didn't
know who he was at the time. I just saw an elderly gentleman having
trouble reading his ticket. I offered to help, assured him that he was
at the right gate, and noticed the "Screaming Eagle", the symbol of the 101st Airborne, on his hat.

Making conversation, I asked him if he'd been in the 101st Airborne
or if his son was serving. He said quietly that he had been in the
101st. I thanked him for his service, then asked him when he served, and
how many jumps he made.

Quietly and humbly, he said "Well, I guess I signed up in 1941 or so, and was in until sometime in 1945 . . . " at which point my heart skipped.

At that point, again, very humbly, he said "I made the 5 training jumps at Toccoa, and then jumped into Normandy . . . . do you know where Normandy is?" At this point my heart stopped.

I told him yes, I know exactly where Normandy was, and I know what D-Day was. At that point he said "I also made a second jump into Holland, into Arnhem." I was standing with a genuine war hero . . . . and then I realized that it was June, just after the anniversary of D-Day.

I asked Shifty if he was on his way back from France, and he said "Yes.
And it's real sad because these days so few of the guys are left, and
those that are, lots of them can't make the trip." My heart was in my
throat and I didn't know what to say.

I helped Shifty get onto the plane and then realized he was back in
Coach, while I was in First Class. I sent the flight attendant back to
get him and said that I wanted to switch seats. When Shifty came
forward, I got up out of the seat and told him I wanted him to have it,
that I'd take his in coach.

He said "No, son, you enjoy that seat. Just knowing that there are still
some who remember what we did and still care is enough to make an old
man very happy." His eyes were filling up as he said it. And mine are
brimming up now as I write this.

Shifty died on June 17 after fighting cancer.

There was no parade.

No big event in Staples Center.

No wall to wall back to back 24x7 news coverage.

No weeping fans on television.

Back in the day I attended a few 82nd Airborne Association Conventions, and met some of the war veterans who went before me. BTW it wasn't just 82nd veterans who attended these events, but there were guys who had been 101st, 11th Airborne Division, 503rd PIR and "Triple Nickle" 555th PIB.

A lot of these guys, had they not earned jump wings at one point in their lives, would have joined the Moose Lodge or something so they'd have a fraternity of drinking buddies to BS with. For them it was that kind of thing. But I also met some guys who were a lot like Shifty as he's presented in this anecdote. Paratroopers were bad dudes, but these guys had a quiet humility about what they did that I couldn't help admiring.

There aren't many WWII veterans left in 2014, and most of the US population is oblivious to the sacrifice made and what we owe them. I will never forget.

About the Two-Fisted Blogger

This blog came about by accident...if you believe in accidents.
I was attempting to take advantage of something Google offered, was filling in fields on page after page of especially tedious registration forms, and budaboom! Next thing I know, I have my own blog.
That's not the whole story, though. Truth is, I had considered blogging before, but decided against it because I already had too many things competing for my limited time.
"It's an omen!" sez I. "I shall become a bat." Oops. No, wait...wrong Omen Reaction Vow. Sorry, Bruce.
"I shall become a blogger," sez I. It was destiny, see?
The Two-Fisted Blog was soon in business, providing an online "man cave" for those who love books, movies and other entertainment with a high testosterone quotient.
I'm still in the blogging business, giving folks around the world the skinny on old stuff you may have missed, and new stuff you may not yet have discovered...but I now do this mostly over at www.virtualpulp.net. See you there.